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Newscasts

PNS Daily Newscast - February 22, 2018

President Trump holds a listening session at the White House as the demand for action to curb gun violence spreads across the nation; also on today's rundown; an Arizona ballot initiative would require 50 percent renewable energy by the year 2030; and a new report find local democracy is being "run-over" by Lyft and Uber.

Daily Newscasts

Health Care Group Slams Trump's "Skinny" Insurance Plans

Utah Gets Failing Grade for Reproductive Health Care

Prison Birth Sparks Calls for CT Legislation

Idaho Bill Would Prevent Domestic Abusers From Having Guns

Health Care Group Slams Trump's "Skinny" Insurance Plans

Project Uses "Prescriptive Power" of Doctors to Promote Good Nutrition

Rural Doctors Could Be Casualty of ACA Repeal

BILLINGS, Mont. – As the GOP considers reviving plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with a revised American Health Care Act, the move could have serious consequences for rural Montana counties.

Tucked into the current system is the Teaching Health Center Grant, which helps fund residency programs for new doctors. One grant beneficiary is RiverStone Health, a teaching health center in Billings and the main source of doctors for rural Montana.

"We would match for a smaller number of residents in the class, which would mean that three years later, we would be graduating fewer residents to go and become primary-care physicians in rural Montana," he explains.

Geurin says the grant currently helps them train three of their 24 residents each year. According to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, 50 of the state's 56 counties have a primary-care doctor shortage.

RiverStone's training program was founded two decades ago for the purpose of keeping doctors in the state. At that time, Montana didn't have a residency program - Geurin says that's important because about 60 percent of doctors end up practicing in the region where they train.

Now, about 70 percent of RiverStone residents stay in Montana. But uncertainty about the grant has already affected planning. Geurin says RiverStone could be faced with taking in fewer residents.

"In public health, we don't have a lot of money just sitting around to help cover things if we run short," he adds. "So, most of what we do goes back into doing patient care for the under-served population that we care for."

Geurin says letters have been passed around in Congress to keep funding going for the Teaching Health Center Grant, but no legislation has been proposed.